Synod News & Events 
August 29, 2014
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Synod Events 
Below is a list of all the upcoming synod events.

AUGUST 
Region 3 Practice Discipleship Retreat
August 24-26, 2014
Lutheran Crest Bible Camp, Alexandria

SEPTEMBER 
September 16, 2014
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Redwood Falls
Fall Theological Conference
September 21-24, 2014
Mount Carmel & Luther Crest Ministries, Alexandria

OCTOBER 
Elderberry Retreat
October 23-24, 2014
Green Lake Lutheran Ministries, Spicer
Training Worship Leaders
October 23, 2014
Gloria Dei Lutheran,
Redwood Falls

NOVEMBER 
NW & SW MN Synod Clergy Spouse Retreat
November 7-9, 2014
Luther Crest Bible Camp, Alexandria
Jr High Youth Gathering
November 21-23, 2014
Willmar

SAVE THE DATE 
All Conference Assemblies
February 8, 2015

Progress toward our Landscape survey goal.
578 people have taken the Landscape!

 

Please do not underestimate the importance of your individual input into this process. If you have already shared your story, we know these reminders are getting tiresome - please know your contribution is greatly appreciated.

 

BUT, we are still waiting to hear from some of you. Sharing your story will only take 20-30 minutes. Please shine the light on your experiences and opinions in the Southwestern Minnesota Synod. Your input is absolutely anonymous. No light will shine on YOU, just your experiences as ONLY YOU can tell them. 

 

If you have already completed the Landscape, thank you! If we haven't heard from you yet, the link is provided below.  

 

If you are the pastor or president, we would ask that you forward this to your staff, council leadership, and other leaders who have participated in our synod's life.

Please make every effort to complete the assessment by September 5, 2014. If you have any questions or need a paper copy of the Landscape, please call your synod office at 507-637-3904.

Thank you for being part of this process. Your voice is needed and important as we walk together discerning the ways the Holy Spirit is calling us into God's preferred future for our lives, our congregations, and our synod. Through this process we hope to give a critical voice to every congregation in our synod. I'm grateful for each of you. Below is a breakdown of each conference. 

 

 

The number of people who have taken the Landscape
from each conference. 
 

Evangelism E-Tips

This is a key time to encourage people to invite people into the life of our communities of fiath. Evangelism E-Tip gives some great advice about inviting in different places and different ways.

 

Click here to download Inviting, E-Tip or visit ELCA Evangelism on the ELCA website. Here you find articles that can be used in a variety of ways....as pages or bulletin inserts. (These articles are available for download and distribution in full-page or bulletin insert format. Use for committee and council meetings; or copy and duplicate the bulletin inserts to distribute to the whole congregation in worship or in your newsletter.)


 We are the people who focus on the Good News we receive in Christ Jesus.  

Our Mission Support -Where it Goes? Where we are at?
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson
I wish you could have seen their faces. I was at worship on Monday at Luther Seminary for a meeting. We had stopped to join the first year students in their opening worship service. I looked over the crowd thinking some of these seminarians will someday be pastors and leaders in our synod. I looked forward knowing that the person in front of me is a Liberian person whose family is trapped in their village by the Ebola outbreak. He hopes to go home and make a difference as he shares the Gospel of Jesus. Then it struck me. One of these people might be my pastor as I grow older.

 

Where do pastors come from? They come from families, from congregations, from Bible Camps, from campus ministries, from congregations in their adult life. God works in all kinds of ways to call people to ordained ministry. The Holy Spirit has been at work, I saw the chapel full of people who are being called and in a few years will be sent to serve in Southwestern Minnesota and around the world.


Where does your gift to the synod go? One of the places it goes is to fund the formation of leaders...read more.

Click read more to see where the synod's mission support is at today. 
Debt reduction for seminary student loans
ELCA rostered leaders in our synod are invited to apply online for the
Funds for Leadership Support debt reduction grants for seminary student loans. Application deadline: September 10, 2014

Qualifications:
1) ELCA rostered leaders serving in good standing in SW MN Synod as of July 1, 2014;
2) who served under call in this synod in 2013
3) with payments on seminary loans in the 2013 calendar year (documentation submitted to our office at the time of application);
4) with remaining seminary student loan balance of at least $500 as of June 30, 2014; and
5) application received by Sept. 10, 2014 (disbursement of funds directly to lending agencies in October 2014).

After completion of the application form, please send a scanned copy of your loan payment documentation (for the entire calendar year 2013) to carla.klawitter@swmnelca.org.

If sending hard copy, please mail to: Attn: Debt Reduction,
SW MN Synod-ELCA, PO Box 499, Redwood Falls, MN 56283.
Remember, the application deadline is September 10, 2014.

Lend your voice to "God's Work. Our Hands." Sunday!

God's Work. Our Hands. Sunday is on Sept. 7, 2014. Here is a different way to support God's work of creating and recreating this amazing beautiful world.  If your congregation is not doing something on God's Work Our Hands Sunday, you can learn about how to include advocacy as part of your day of service. Join in the work of encouraging and advocating care for creation by clicking here.  

 

Advocating as a citizen is one of our callings as disciples of Jesus who live in a democracy.  Advocating is a giving voice for the sake of our neighbors.  The below link will help you learn more about ways you can speak out of your values to leaders who make policy decisions.

Click here for ELCA Advocacy News and Alerts.

2014 Fall Theological Conference
September 21-24, 2014
We are returning back to the beautiful settings of Luther Crest and Mount Carmel Ministries for this year's FTC!

Our theological focus will be on the theme, Diakonia, Formed to Serve with Dr. Marcia Bunge and Pr. Drew Genszler as our primary speakers.

Registration deadline is September 12, 2014.

The Fall Theological Conference is for SW MN Synod Pastors, Associates in Ministry, Interns, and Synodically Authorized Lay Ministers.
2014 Church Staff Workers Association Retreat
September 16, 2014 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

The annual CSWA retreat offers an opportunity for
congregational staff to come together for a day of inspiration,
learning and sharing hopes and concerns.

Join us for speakers, Rev. Dr. Anna Madsen from 
OMG: Center for Theological Conversation and 
Jodi Harpstead, CEO of Lutheran Social Service of MN.
As well as, free chair massages, lunch and time to gather with other church staff workers. 

Boundaries Refresher
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson
Our synod council passed a continuing resolution a few years ago encouraging rostered leaders to attend a boundaries workshop every three years. 

To help people accomplish this goal we will be having a Boundaries Refresher Course built into our upcoming Church Staff Workers' Retreat. Beginning at 12:30 this group will engage in a participatory review of best practices and summary reminders about keeping healthy boundaries in our lives as rostered leaders. 

Boundaries Refresher (2.5 hours)
Tuesday, September 16 at 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Redwood Falls MN
Click here to register!

If you are attending the Church Staff Workers' Retreat that day, there will be no additional cost. If you are not, the cost will be $25 per person. Please arrive at noon to pick up a box lunch. The meeting will start promptly at 12:30. In addition to registering, we would ask that you share one question that you are bringing with you to help our presenters, Rick Loseth LICSW and Pr. Susan Enghom prepare for our event.

The refresher will conclude at 3.00 p.m. when the Church Staff Workers event concludes. This will mean those who participate will not be able to hear our second speaker, Jodi Harpstead from LSS of MN speak.

The next opportunity to refresh your boundaries awareness will be our full day Boundaries Workshop for pastors who have received a call in our synod for the first time. It is open to other rostered leaders and church program staff workers on Nov. 13. It is a full day workshop, more information coming soon.
Upcoming Fall Lay School Classes

Lay School of Theology, Luther Seminary
The following Classes include an online option.  

  • Christians of the Middle East: Past and Future
  • Jeremiah: Judgment, Trauma and Hope
  • Luther's Small Catechism for Today
Registration is now open for 2014-2015 Lay School classes. The Lay School of Theology is a program of informal, non-credit classes taught by seminary professors for people who want to learn more about matters relating to their Christian faith and life. 

Fall classes start Oct. 13. Click here to register today! 
For more information about winter and spring classes, location, schedule and cost, visit www.luthersem.edu/layschool

Marriage Renewal Weekends Offered

Our Southwestern Minnesota Synod encouraged marriage renewal particularly for clergy couples. We supported the participation of 16 clergy and their spouses in Lutheran Marriage Encounter Event (LME) in June. There continues to be opportunities for all married person to renew their love for each other through LME weekends. There are two more weekends coming up soon.

 

REDISCOVER THE ONE YOU LOVE on a Lutheran Marriage Encounter Weekend! Attend a Fall Weekend in Albert Lea, MN on September 19-21 or in Duluth, MN on October 24-26. Apply now at GodLovesMarriage.org or contact Peter & Phyllis McMahon at mcmahonp@comcast.net or 763-561-1575 for more information. Weekends fill fast but there is still room for these two weekends.  However pre-registration is required prior to the Weekend dates - don't miss out!

LIVESTREAM Money, Meaning and Faith: Financial Leadership in Communities of Faith
Nathan Dungan, founder and president of Share Save Spend, will give a second outstanding presentation on Money, Meaning and Faith: Financial Leadership in Communities of Faith, on Tuesday, September 9th from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The event may be attended on campus OR via livestream .

The overall goal of these lectures is to focus on the ways in which persons and congregations can faithfully and effectively manage their personal and congregational finances.

This event, sponsored by Luther Seminary's Center for Stewardship Leaders asks: Where do people go today to learn healthy money habits? In a world awash with consumer messages, it's more difficult than ever to develop healthy money habits that honor both our values and our faith journey. Nathan will provide ideas and insights to help you be relevant and responsive in the current economic environment.